On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams speak with Marc Ganis, longtime advisor to the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell, about the league’s business strength heading into Thursday’s opening night.
The NFL is the world’s richest sports league and by far the most popular league in North America. Its roughly $24 billion in revenue gives it the financial comfort—and freedom—to pursue opportunities and partnerships in ways that other league can’t.
Ganis breaks down the league’s media strategy, which makes up more than $10 billion in annual revenue. Long-running partnerships with ESPN, NBC, CBS and Fox on TV have made the league wealthy, and they have also helped build a buttress against the creep of tech companies, which often offer more money for rights but enter the negotiations with a lot less at stake. Ganis talks about why the NFL has chosen in the past to leave money on the table to preserve its media structure, and why it has been calculated in its deals with Amazon and Netflix.
He also talks about the NFL’s new private equity rules, and an inverse yield curve that has emerged around the league regarding minority stake sales. While the new rules have led to more individuals investing in teams, Ganis says the potential liquidity offered by institutional funds is part of that calculus.
Ganis talks about the NFL’s view on college football. The league has a vested interest in a healthy version of the sport—one that some might argue is under strain given massive changes underway–but details why he believe the pro league will keep an arms-length distance from the NCAA.
They close with rapid fire. Will Taylor Swift do the NFL halftime show? Will an NFL team sell before 2027? Will it be the Seahawks? And is the next NFL commissioner currently working in football?
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